No Choice But To Stay
by CJ1027
Summary: COLLEGE/AMERICAN/MUGGLE AU! Harry, Hermione, and Ron are beginning their junior year of college in California, while Ginny is beginning her sophomore year (at the same school, of course).
1. The Chocolate & Laptop Exchange Program

**A/N: I HOPE YOU GUYS LIKE THIS...PLEASE REVIEW 3**

* * *

"Don't let it bother you, Harry."

"It's not bothering me."

"Bullshit," chimed in Ron.

"Ron-" Hermione tried.

"Of course it's bothering you," Ron accused Harry. "It's not like you haven't been obsessed with her for the past-"

"I'm not _obsessed_ with her," Harry muttered before taking a bite of his pizza.

"Again," Ron sighed, rolling his eyes. "Bullshit."

"Ron, just let Harry be, will you?" Hermione pleaded, touching Ron's arm. "I know she's your sister, but…but why don't we just drop it for now, alright? It was my mistake. I shouldn't have even pointed them out."

"Thanks," Harry said, smiling softly with a wave of gratitude for Hermione. Harry and Ron usually never fought, unless it was about Ginny.

Ron looked at Harry pointedly, and then turned to look at Hermione, who was looking at him with a kind, hopeful face. "Alright," he resigned. "Let's drop it."

You see, Ginny Weasley happened to be Ronald Weasley's younger sister. Ron and Harry Potter had been best friends ever since the first day of middle school. Harry and his parents, James and Lily, had just moved to be closer to the school where Lily taught at, and they became instant friends on the bus. Although Ron had five other brothers, Harry became like an additional brother to him. They would spend almost every day at one of the other's houses. Harry practically became a part of the Weasley family, and Harry's parents adored Ron as well. Ginny, being only a year younger than Harry and Ron, took a liking to Harry at a very young age. Harry, on the other hand, did not find it necessary to talk to girls until around age 15.

But we'll get to that later.

Harry tried not to look to his left, four tables away in the dining hall, where Ginny and her current boyfriend, Dean Thomas, were sitting and eating together, holding hands across the table.

"I've got to say though, Harry," Ron spoke up softly a little later. "I would much rather the two of you be together than her settle for that jackass."

"He's really okay, though," Hermione defended. "I've spent time with them and-"

"Whose side are you on?" Harry asked accusingly.

"Don't be stupid!" she snapped, letting go of Ron to cross her arms. "Obviously, yours. But Ginny is still my friend."

"I thought we were dropping this," Harry said, as he glanced over at Ginny laughing. He looked away as Dean caught his eye, and then looked down at his phone. "It's fifteen minutes until class anyway, I better get going."

"Yeah, I'm pretty much done, too," Hermione sighed, pushing her tray in front of her away. "I should go back to the library and get a head start on the next chapter for physics. Want to come, Ron?"

"I think I'm gonna nap instead," he answered her, stretching as he leaned back in his chair. "I don't have class until three."

"You should really be more productive, you know," Hermione said, standing up and picking up her tray to go put it away. "Haven't I trained you better than that by now?"

"First off," started Ron, stuffing his last bite of pizza crust into his mouth, getting up as well. "You didn't _train_ me to do anything. I'm capable! Right, Harry?"

"Well, sort of."

"Why don't you come nap with me?" Ron suggested, snaking an arm around Hermione's waist after they had dropped their trays off. "Or, you know…my room is a beacon for plenty of wonderful activities."

"And on that note," Harry laughed, throwing his backpack over his shoulder. "I must be off. See you guys for dinner, yeah?"

"Yes! Oh, but I've got a club meeting at 7, and a meeting with my professor about our research at 8, and I have to start my paper tonight too…" A look of distress suddenly spread across Hermione's face.

"We'll get dinner at 6 then, don't worry," Harry reassured her. "I think maybe you should take Ron's offer and nap with him. You could use some time to relax."

"See, Mione," Ron said, pulling her closer to him. "Even Harry agrees!"

"Oh, alright, but just a power nap. And I mean sleeping, strictly. If I miss my class I am going to kill you," she threatened him, although with a smile on her face as she put her own arm around Ron as well. "See you at 6, Harry!"

"Bye," Harry said, as Ron and Hermione walked happily towards the opposite exit in the direction of the dorms.

Harry and Ron met Hermione their freshman year of college. Obviously, Harry and Ron were roommates, and Hermione happened to live on the same floor as them in their college dormitory. She lived in her own room alone, and didn't seem to make too many friends in the first week. Harry and Ron introduced themselves, in attempts of making friends, but Ron made a snide comment when he saw she had two textbooks open on her desk and a pencil behind her ear about "how is anyone in their right mind already doing work on the first weekend of college," and, "what kind of name is Hermione, anyway?"—leaving a bad first impression.

The next day, however, Harry and Ron decided to go to a frat party with some other people they met on their floor. Harry invited Hermione in attempt to make a better impression, but she politely declined. Unfortunately, Ron had too much access to free alcohol, and when he became completely incoherent, Harry, who was also intoxicated although in his right mind, decided it'd be best to take him back to campus. When arriving on their floor, Hermione had just left her room to get some fresh air when Ron started vomiting in the hallway. Harry, feeling helpless, didn't know quite what to do, and Hermione swooped in and took care of everything. She helped him walk to his room, gave him water but made sure he only drank very little bits of it, put a garbage can right next to his bed, and basically tucked him into bed and stayed in the room to make sure he was okay while he was still awake. He muttered something like "you're p-pretty," before he fell asleep. She then went ahead and cleaned up the vomit in the hallway too.

The next morning, she even brought up toast and water to their room, placing it on Ron's desk. He was so in awe when he woke up, and when Harry recounted the story to Ron to the best of his ability, Ron ate his toast, and then marched straight to Hermione's room to thank her, as well as to apologize for the snide remarks he made upon meeting her. She forgave him and they talked for the next few hours, Harry joining them sometime in the middle.

After that night, Hermione became one of both Harry and Ron's very best friend. They found out how kind, caring, and wildly intelligent she is—she even got into the school on a full scholarship, and was majoring in neuroscience and minoring in physics. Harry and Ron agreed it was about time they were close to another girl as a friend, and she did make a great addition to the pair of them, and thus they became, as they liked to call themselves, "the golden trio."

It was quite obvious though that Ron's feelings towards Hermione were more than just friendly. She had gone on a few dates with a boy a year older than them, Cormac McLaggen, and though it was never anything really serious, Ron pretty much gave Hermione the silent treatment during that time. Hermione's feelings towards Ron were evident as well when she found out he had slept with a girl in her chemistry class one night after a party. Harry found her crying in the staircase on the phone with her Mom the next day.

In April of their freshman year though, Harry walked into his and Ron's room, complaining loudly to what he expected to be just Ron in the room, about the amount of work his professors had given him that day, when he stumbled upon Ron in company of Hermione, kissing each other passionately on Ron's bed. They broke apart quite suddenly, Hermione hiding her face in Ron's shoulder, when Harry said, "No, no, continue! Fucking finally, really. I'll just leave. Have fun, be safe, text me when I can come back. Use protection! See you crazy kids later," and left the room with a smirk on his face as he heard Hermione whimper in embarrassment, as Ron chuckled heartily.

The two of them have been together ever since, even now at the start of their junior year at the university. Hermione actually lives twenty minutes outside of where they grew up in San Francisco, so it was easy for her to come and visit them over the past two summers. Ginny and Hermione became fast friends, too.

Speaking of Ginny, when Harry parted with Ron and Hermione to go to his class, when leaving the dining hall Ginny caught his eye and waved to him, to which Harry awkwardly smiled back to and went off to class, trying not to let his jealousy get the best of him.

A few minutes into his lecture, his phone vibrated in his pocket. It was a text from Ginny:

 **"You left your laptop in the dining hall, idiot. :P"**

Harry smiled, though he felt like he shouldn't be smiling, and replied.

 **"Thanks. Can I have it back?"**

20 seconds later:

 **"I'll think about it."**

Harry rolled his eyes, and decided instead of retorting with a flirtatious comment back, that maybe it'd be best to leave it at that and focus on his professor talking.

3 minutes later, Ginny texted him again:

 **"I've thought about it. Stop by room at approximately 5:30pm with 3 kit kats, and I will hand you back your precious laptop."**

Harry:

 **"Make it just 2 kit kats because I'm running low, and then you have yourself a deal."**

Ginny:

 **"That'll do. :)"**

It would be cutting it close to his dinner with Ron and Hermione, so he knew it'd be bound to be quick, but the thought of being alone with Ginny for a while, even if nothing could happen, make his stomach do flips. _Get over her already,_ Harry thought, when he caught himself smiling at the thought of seeing her later. He shook it off and went back to try and concentrate in class, only half succeeding.

After his lecture, Harry went to the library and met Hermione there, who was studying with a worn-out look on her face, as Ron sat next to her doodling vivaciously. "You good, Hermione?"

"Yeah I'm just ti-" she interrupted herself with a yawn.

"Power nap didn't help you?"

"No!" she cried, angrily. "It just made me more tired…Ugh, I can't do this!"

Ron paused his doodling to put an arm around Hermione. "Oh, cmon Mione! It was a _fantastic_ nap! I feel so refreshed! Don't you feel refreshed?"

"No," she sighed, miserably.

"Maybe you should go back to sleep," Harry suggested.

"I can't! I-"

"Hermione, _come on_ ," Ron prodded. "You need rest! You should go to sleep early tonight. Maybe just hold off starting your essay until tomorrow morning."

Harry's phone buzzed in his pocket. He took it out, and chuckled at the message displayed on his home screen:

 **"Actually, I've changed my mind. If I'm only getting two kit kats, then I demand at least one bag of m &ms as well."**

"I can't do that! I…who has got _you_ so cheerful?" Hermione cut herself off to ask.

"Er…my mom?"

She gave Harry a look, sending him a telepathic message as if to say, _I know that's Ginny texting you and I don't know what you're doing but you better be careful._

"I miss Lily," Ron said, dreamily. "She always lets me have as much soda and sweets as I want, unlike _my_ mom…"

"What a lovely reason to admire someone," Hermione scoffed, but eyed Harry with relief written across her face. Ron loved Harry, and part of him _did_ want Harry and Ginny to be together, but the other part of him was a bit too overprotective of Ginny (and in some instances, rightfully so). So sometimes it sounded as if he wanted Harry to do anything he could to be with Ginny, and other times it sounded like he wanted Harry as far away from her as possible. His view fluctuated daily, so Hermione and Harry tried to bring the situation up in front of him as little as possible.

"Well, she's just a lovely lady in general, too!" Ron exclaimed. "Not that I'm hitting on your mom or anything, Harry-"

"Let's just stop right there," Harry warned him, rolling his eyes.

"What did she text you?" Ron asked.

"Uh…just…just something stupid my Dad did."

"Classic James," Ron said, and then resumed his doodling.

Harry finally sat down and opened up his textbook and notebook, reading lazily and taking insufficient notes. After about 30 minutes, he started gaining some of his focus. Unfortunately, that happened to be when Ron had to leave for class; so after he kissed Hermione goodbye, told her to cheer up and stalked off to class, Hermione and Harry were alone, which led to the inevitable:

Bombardment.

"Why was Ginny texting you?"

"Hermione, I'm trying to study."

"Good one. Tell me!"

"It really doesn't matter."

"Harry Potter I swear I will never talk to you again unless-"

"Quit being so dramatic! I just left my laptop in the dining hall and she got it for me, so I'm getting it back from her in a bit. That's all."

Hermione pondered this for a moment, and then said, "Do you think it's really a good idea to be alone with her, Harry?"

"Contrary to popular belief, I do have some self control. Thanks for believing in me."

"Oh, you know what I mean! And you're not the only one I'm worried about on that front."

Harry smirked at this, and took out his phone to respond to Ginny's message. He sighed as he sent it and went back to reading, until Hermione interrupted him again.

"To be honest with you, Harry, I don't even know why she's with him in the first place."

"You're telling me."

"Give it time…it's bound to happen eventually."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Just trust me on this."

"I'm holding you to it."

"Alright then," said Hermione. "Just…just don't do anything stupid, okay?"

"Me, do something stupid? Unheard of," Harry joked.

Another hour or so passed before Hermione and Harry went to their Social Psychology class together. It was useful having a few classes with Hermione here and there, since the Psychology and Neuroscience majors overlapped with their coursework and electives…Harry wanted to be an Industrial-Organizational psychologist, while Hermione wanted to go to medical school with a neuroscience degree and become a brain surgeon. Yeah, she's _that_ smart.

So whenever Harry would doze off or space out, Hermione would nudge him awake and let him copy the last few line of notes that he missed, although she would always reprimand him and say, "Social Psychology is really important for IO psych, Harry! You should really pay closer attention."

He knew she was right, but most of the time he rolled his eyes and just said, "Yeah, yeah," in response.

After class ended, it was 5:20. They headed to Harry and Ron's room, where Harry went into his mini fridge to grab the 2 kit kat bars and the bag of m&ms, as Hermione curled up next to Ron on his bed, where he was watching South Park happily. Harry gave Hermione a look as to say, _distract him so he doesn't notice where I'm off to_ , and he quietly left the room as Hermione started to attack Ron with some kisses so he would not question Harry's hurried departure.

He walked down the stairs from the fifth floor to the second, and went to room 210 where Ginny lived. He knocked on the door and the door had opened only slightly, Ginny peaking her head out through the crack. "Got the stuff?"

Harry showed her the candy in his hand. "You make this sound like a drug deal."

Ginny grinned, opening the door fully, "Well, chocolate _is_ a drug, you know." Harry followed her inside her room. Her roommate wasn't there, which made Harry slightly nervous. Ginny sat on her bed cross-legged, holding Harry's laptop. "Put the chocolate on my desk, Potter."

Harry did as he was told, rolling his eyes with a smirk on his face. "You're ridiculous, you know."

"Ridiculous, or genius? They go hand in hand, sort of," Ginny said, holding the laptop out for Harry to take. He stepped forward awkwardly and took it.

"Er, thanks."

"Are you always this articulate?"

"Nice Hercules reference."

"Good catch," she said, beaming. _She truly is beautiful_ , Harry thought, as he gazed at the freckles on her cheeks and nose, almost counting them. "And you're welcome…you _can_ sit down, you know. My bed doesn't bite."

Harry heard Hermione's words from the library ring in his ears, but he ignored it and sat next to Ginny on her bed.

"So, er, how have you been?"

"Alright, I suppose," she said, biting her lip. "I wish you weren't acting this way."

Harry was taken aback. "What do you mean-"

"You know what I mean, Harry," she said, oddly gentle. "I thought we were going to stay _friends_."

"We are friends, Gin."

"No. I'm trying to be your friend and you're just being, well, awkward, honestly!"

"I'm sorry, alright!" Harry burst out angrily, surprising himself as he stood up from the bed, putting distance between the two of them. "You think this is easy for me?"

Ginny rolled her eyes and groaned. "Harry, come on. Easy for you? Are you kidding me?"

"Hey, don't—I just, I mean…You're right. This isn't fair to you. I'm sorry."

"S'fine," Ginny mumbled. "I just…I miss you."

"See, you can't _say_ things like that to me," Harry shouted, angry that this was going this way. "That's not fair to _me."_

"I meant it in a—"

"No, you meant it just how I would mean it if I said it," Harry stopped her. He couldn't believe this. Why was she doing this? He turned around for the door. "I shouldn't have even come here."

"Harry, wait," she said, getting up and grabbing his arm. "Just…just wait one second, alright? You're making me confused. I need a second to fucking think, okay? Please, just wait a second."

Harry waited, his anger fading away as he saw the look of distress spreading across Ginny's face. He instinctively put a thumb to her cheek, his other fingers settling in her hair. _What are you doing_? Part of him said. The other part said, _shut up._

Ginny looked up at him with sad eyes, and slowly took Harry's hand off her face, though she seemed reluctant to do so. "Harry…"

"Sorry," he said, realizing the mistake he had just made, taking a step back. "Sorry. Just…why are you with him?"

"Because, Harry, I'm tired. Tired of this…this back and forth between us, for what now? Three years? I want something stable, he likes me, and I…" she choked on her own words, failing to continue her defense.

"You should be with me," Harry blurted out.

"It's not that simple."

"It could be."

Ginny seemed to think over that for a moment, until she sighed heavily and looked away. "Maybe. But, not right now. Things are going okay with Dean, and you can't just come in here and expect me to leave that behind for you…I need to sort out my feelings first, alright?"

Harry sighed in defeat. "Yeah, alright…Can I just…Could I just say how _I'm_ feeling right now, and then I'll let you be?"

Ginny nodded her head slowly, looking nervously back at him.

"I want to be with you Ginny," Harry confessed simply. "You've only been with this kid for a few months, and I know I've fucked up in the past…And I'm so, so sorry for that. But I swear I won't ever make those mistakes again. I know what I want now and that's you. It's…it's always been you. I just, well, I handled it like an idiot."

Ginny smiled wearily at that, her gentle brown eyes looking deeply into Harry's.

"And, if it helps, Ron will murder me if I do ever act like an idiot again."

"That does help," she laughed softly.

In that moment, Harry's phone buzzed with a text from Ron:

 **"Coming to dinner? We're sitting towards the back."**

"Maybe you should go," she said quietly.

Harry ran a hand through his untidy hair, struggling against his desire to put his hands on her face and kiss her like he's done so many times in the past. He resisted though. "Just, just promise me you'll think over what I said, yeah?"

Ginny nodded, finally disconnecting her eyes from Harry's. "I will."

"Okay. Well…I, er, I better be going, then. I'll, um, see you around, Gin. Thanks for the laptop."

"Thanks for the chocolate," she replied, smiling slightly.

"Of course," he smiled back.

* * *

 _[April, 2013]_

 _"Ginny, wait," Harry whispered, gently grabbing her hand._

 _She looked up at him, tears filled in her eyes but refusing to leak out. It was a cool April night, right before Easter. Her lips were white and her hand was freezing, but her cheeks were flushed with what seemed to be embarrassment…_ but she shouldn't be embarrassed _, thought Harry. After what Harry must've known was years of all these bottled up feelings Ginny had just confessed to him, his heart felt warm._

 _"Don't…don't you know that I…" he tried to find the words, but they got lost in the cool air._

 _She looked up at him still, and repeated what she said before. "I shouldn't have said anything. Everything was fine…"_

 _"No, I'm—I'm happy you said something," he reassured her, mustering up some more courage. He tried again. "Don't you know that I…that I feel the same way?"_

 _She blinked, holding her breath. "W-what?"_

 _He put his free hand on her cheek, and leaned in and kissed her…not the hungry kind of kisses they had been exchanging over the past few months as whatever they were, but a gentle kiss, caressing her face softly, hoping she'd understand what he was trying to say without words._

 _They parted, and Ginny looked up at him again, her face even more flushed now. "I don't get you."_

 _Harry smirked, running his fingers through her hair. "I don't get me, either."_

 _"Well, could you try, maybe? Might make things easier for the both of us."_

 _Harry sighed, collecting his thoughts. "I, er…of course I have feelings for you, Gin. I just…I'm confused, you know? I'm going to be going off to college soon, and I don't want to…I don't want to start something and then have to end it and just…"_

 _"It doesn't have to end when you go to school," she mumbled. "People do it, and—"_

 _"It wouldn't be fair to you."_

 _"And this is fair?"_

 _"Well, no—"_

 _"Harry," she whispered, squeezing his hand. "If…If you don't want…if you don't want to, you know, be anything more than whatever we already are…it's fine, I get it. I just…I just needed to tell you how I feel, is all."_

 _"Thanks," Harry said, leaning in and kissing her again, though her response seemed numb. "And…I want you to know I_ do _feel the same way about you, Ginny. I just…I just don't know if now is the best time to be getting involved like that. You know? But…I don't want to stop this yet, or push you away, or…or make you hate me for this—"_

 _"Don't be stupid," she said sharply. "I could never hate you."_

 _"Good."_

 _"I was just tired of keeping this all bottled up."_

 _"I understand," he told her, pulling her closer to his person._

 _She seemed to pull away a little. "Harry," she murmured, looking down. "I…I just think I need some time to think about all this, okay? It took a lot for me to say all that tonight and…I just can't think straight when you're…touching me," she finished, a hint of a grin on her face._

 _Harry pulled away reluctantly. "Understood."_

 _An awkward silence filled the air._

 _"Well, I…I'll talk to you tomorrow, yeah?"_

 _"Okay," she responded, offering a smile._

 _Harry slowly turned around and walked to his car. He looked over his shoulder as Ginny put her hand on the doorknob. "Night," he called at her._

 _"Goodnight, Harry."_


	2. Friends, With or Without the Benefits

_[September, 2006]_

 _"What's that on your forehead?"_

 _Harry quickly pulled on his messy hair to cover his forehead, holding it. "It's a scar."_

 _"How'd you get it?" she asked innocently._

 _"Er…I fell when I was a baby in the park when my dad wasn't looking. Had to get stitches."_

 _"Did it hurt?"_

 _"Leave Harry alone, Ginny," Ron interfered, passing the basketball to Harry. "Why don't you go inside?"_

 _"Because, this is my backyard too and I'm allowed to be out here if I want to!"_

 _"You're so fucking annoying," Ron spat._

 _"I'm gonna tell mom you cursed, Ron," warned Ginny. "Unless you let me play, too."_

 _"Fine, whatever," Ron groaned, as Ginny displayed a triumphant smile and stole the ball from Harry's hands. "Sorry, Harry."_

 _Harry shrugged. He was only eleven…he didn't really like talking to girls that much. Nor playing sports with them, and especially not talking about the scar he had on his forehead, which the other kids in school often made fun of him for. He had to admit, though…she_ was _pretty good at basketball, for a girl…_

* * *

"You good, bro?" Ron asked, nudging Harry, who was standing alone against a wall, staring blankly at his phone.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Harry lied, forcing a smile and taking a sip of his beer. He was watching Ginny from the corner of his eye on the other side of the room. She was also at Hermione's 21st birthday celebration with Dean, but she seemed to be keeping a distance, talking mostly to her roommate, Luna, who she was very close with and liked very much. Harry was lost in deep thought and confusion of the whole situation since he was in her room a few days before.

Hermione came over and put her arms around both Ron and Harry, as if giving them both a hug. "I love you boys!" she said happily, and then kissed both of them on the cheek.

"I love drunk Hermione," Harry laughed, before Hermione let go of him and gave Ron a big kiss on the lips. Ron laughed and pulled her in closer, kissing her back. "On second thought…"

Hermione broke apart from Ron, turned to Harry and said, "Stop being a party pooper! Come dance!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him to the dance floor as he pocketed his phone. Ron followed them, laughing, taking some pictures of them on his own phone.

Hermione, who insisted on getting properly drunk for the first time on her 21st birthday, was four drinks in and quite a pleasant drunk to be around. Harry, who was not quite the best dancer around, was shamelessly dancing to the song playing in the bar, which made Hermione laugh with glee. For the next half hour or so, Harry blissfully forgot his problems and enjoyed dancing and singing with his two best friends.

Eventually, though, Ginny came over to them with Luna, looking beautiful in a red dress, giving Hermione a huge hug before coming up to Harry.

"Hey, Harry," she greeted him with a smile.

"Hey," he said. "You look great, Gin."

She shrugged, smirking. "Eh, I try. You don't look too shabby yourself."

"Thanks," Harry told her, feeling his heart beat faster.

"Do you think we could—"

"GINNY!" Ron shouted, clobbering her with a bear hug. "I've got you and Luna drinks! Wow, you look great!" he told her, kissing her cheek. "Stay away from Harry looking like that, Gin."

Harry felt his ears turning red, but Ginny just laughed. "Sure, Ron," she said, ruffling his hair and then taking one of the drinks. "Luna's over there with Hermione."

"Great! Be right back," he said, spotting Luna and Hermione and walking in their direction. "Need another drink, Harry?"

"No, I'm good, thanks," he said coolly.

Ron walked away happily, leaving Ginny and Harry alone again. "Good thing he's only at stage 2," Ginny joked. "Happy and Loving Ron."

"Good point. It's only a matter of time though before he hits stage 3: Sloppy Ron. I think Hermione's already there."

"I feel so proud," Ginny announced, putting a hand to her heart. "Our little Mione all grown up."

"Though she is the oldest of us—and not to mention the only one who actually used her real ID to get in here."

Ginny smiled. "Too true."

Harry stared into her eyes for a little too long, because he didn't even notice Dean approaching. When Harry left his trance and looked up, he saw Dean standing there, trying to grab hold of Ginny's hand, but she winced at his touch. "Hi, Harry," said Dean.

"Oh, er, hi," Harry replied, feeling the color drain from his face. "Er, have a fun rest of the night, guys," he said, and then walked away quickly.

"Harry," he heard Ginny say, but he pretended he didn't.

Harry started storming off toward the bar door to get some fresh air when Hermione grabbed hold of him. "Oh, no you don't!" He turned around, putting his hands in his pockets. "It's my birthday, and I'm not letting this whole Ginny thing get you down today! You're going to keep dancing with Ron and me and enjoy it! _And_ you're going to smile the whole time! Got it?"

Hermione's face was so serious, Harry knew it would really hurt her feelings if he spent the rest of the night moping over Ginny instead of celebrating her birthday. He put on his best smile, put an arm around Hermione, kissed her cheek, and promised he would be on his best behavior the rest of the night.

And he stuck to his promise. He did spend the rest of the time at the bar having a great time with all of their friends, celebrating Hermione's birthday. They got back to campus, ordered pizza and put on one of Hermione's favorite movies, and just hung out in Harry and Ron's suite until 4am. Even Ginny was there, with Luna, and without Dean, and it was really fine and wasn't awkward at all.

Ron and Hermione went off to her room at the end of the night, and everyone resigned back to their rooms too…except Ginny, who followed Harry into his.

"Hey, I know it's late, but…do you think we can talk?"

Knowing it might not be the best idea, Harry agreed anyway. "Yeah, sure."

Ginny sat next to Harry on his bed, and to Harry's surprise, she reached out and held his hand.

"Er, Ginny…"

"I broke up with Dean," she stated, locking her eyes fiercely with Harry's.

"Wh…what? Can you, er, repeat that, please?"

But she didn't repeat it. Instead, she leaned over and kissed Harry hard on the lips, putting her free hand in his messy hair. Harry instinctively kissed her back, his heart pounding, his stomach doing flips. He hadn't kissed her in so long…And then his brain reminded him he was still confused, and he parted from her.

She blinked, looking at him, her cheeks flushed. "I thought, um, that was pretty clear."

"I mean, um, when? How? I…What?"

"About two hours ago," she told him, squeezing his hand. "I haven't stopped thinking about what you said…and Dean and I got into a fight when we left the bar…and I just realized, like…what the hell have I been doing? He was an asshole, anyway. Always thought he was better than me because he's an engineering major and I'm 'just an English major' or whatever…"

She looked down, taking a deep breath. Harry spoke. "I'm sorry, Ginny."

She smiled. "Don't be sorry, honestly." She took another deep breath. "I'm still a little drunk and it's late and I still have some shit in my head to sort out, but I wanted you to know…and I wanted to kiss you," she pronounced, before grabbing Harry's face and kissing him again with all she had.

Harry's head was swimming, and before he could really kiss her back, she pulled away.

"Ginny, just…" he pulled her back in and kissed her softly for a few needed moments. "What else do you have to sort out? I want to be with you. Don't…Isn't that what you want too?"

"I…" she bit her lip. "I don't know. I need to really think about it all, okay? I'm a little confused right now honestly…and I—I don't know, I just wanted to be with you tonight, even if I don't have it all figured out, yet. Is…is that okay?"

Although the logical side of Harry wanted to say it wasn't okay, Harry just missed her touch so much that he didn't have it in him to say no. "Of course," he whispered, putting his forehead against hers.

"Just kiss me," she mumbled, and he did. They lied there, kissing, for what must have been a half hour, refusing his bodily instincts to go further because he knew it'd be trouble. Not wanting to leave the other, they fell asleep holding each other in Harry's bed.

Harry slept better than he had in ages with Ginny in his arms. He had always preferred falling asleep with Ginny over sleeping alone. He woke up, feeling her skin against his, smelling the flowery scent of her bright orange hair on her shoulders…

Just then, Ron's voice boomed: "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?"

Ginny woke up with a start, looking confused at first, and then frightened when she saw Ron fuming over them.

"Nothing, idiot," she told him, sitting up, releasing herself from Harry's arms. "Keep your voice down, would you?"

Ron looked fiercely at Harry. "How could you? She has a boyfriend, Harry! You know better—"

"No, I don't," Ginny interrupted. "We broke up. And I just told you, nothing happened. Harry and I were just talking last night and I fell asleep here, that's all."

Ron's breathing seemed to lighten, his fists unclenching slowly. "Oh, well…"

"Yeah," she said pointedly. "I'm gonna go back to my room anyway. Don't decapitate Harry, okay? Nothing happened," she reassured him. "And even if something did happen, the world would keep spinning. I'll see you later, Ron, Harry."

Ginny gave Harry a soft look, and with that she left the room.

"Sorry I shouted at you, dude," Ron said apologetically. "But…what the hell _did_ go on? I won't kill you if you tell me the truth…honest."

Harry sat up, fixing his glasses, which he must have fallen asleep wearing, thinking over the night's details himself. And then he realized Ginny had just walked out, and he was still confused on what was going on between them…

"Honestly, I don't even know," he told Ron. "After you and Hermione left, she came into my room, told me her and Dean broke up, kissed me, and then told me she wasn't ready to be with me yet but then kept kissing me anyway until we fell asleep."

Ron shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Women."

"You're telling me," Harry laughed, slumping back down in his bed on his back, his mind buzzing with Ginny and her lips. "How's Hermione? Did she have a good time?"

"She's good, except her head was killing her…that's actually why I came here, I was getting her some crackers," Ron said, taking them from his desk. "A good snack that won't make her sick but might make her feel better. She swears she's never drinking again, though."

"That's what we all say after our first hangover…or any hangover, really."

"True," Ron agreed, walking towards the door. "Well, gotta go give these to Mione. Sorry about shouting at you…"

"It's fine," Harry shrugged. "No big deal."

"But you and Ginny should really sort out your shit already."

"I'm trying," Harry groaned.

"Good luck with that," Ron laughed. "Stubborn 'til the day she dies, that one…See you."

Ron left the room, and Harry sighed, putting his hands in his hair, trying to understand everything that went on in the past 12 hours. _What was Ginny doing? She just broke up with Dean, and then runs to make out with me? But doesn't want to be in a relationship yet? What does she need to sort out anyway? Isn't this what we've wanted this whole time?_ Harry's head and heart felt tired and confused, and so he took his glasses off and went back to sleep, hoping sleep would ease him.

* * *

 _[November, 2013]_

 _"So, er," Harry started, feeling a bit uneasy, not knowing exactly how to handle the situation. He hadn't seen Ginny since he had been home for Thanksgiving holiday, and it was only a quick meeting then. "Are you liking your visit so far?"_

 _"Yeah, it's great! It's such a beautiful campus! Ron gave me a tour and everything…I really hope I get in. My GPA is high enough but I just can't get the score I want on my SATs."_

 _"You'll definitely get in," he reassured her. "I still can't believe I got in. Or Ron, even."_

 _"Well, he was waitlisted. Still though, Ron's extra curriculars were much more impressive than mine."_

 _"But you're the captain of the girls basketball team!"_

 _"Yeah, but Ron was captain of the boys basketball team_ and _had his own radio show, and even did the play for two years!"_

 _"He only did that to see my Mom everyday," Harry laughed, leaning against the wall. Lily, Harry's mother, taught English at their high school and was also the drama director for their plays. "Not like he didn't see her every day anyway."_

 _"He wasn't bad, either, honestly!" Ginny giggled. "That's why Lavender was so obsessed with him. She only ever went out with musically inclined boys."_

 _"Not that Ron's musically inclined…"_

 _"Of course not! That was definitely his weakness—the singing. His acting was pretty good though! Your mom always had to encourage him to sing with confidence though—"_

 _"—and his attempts to impress my Mom must've impressed Lavender instead."_

 _"What an idiot!" Ginny laughed with Harry, putting a hand on his shoulder. Harry felt chills shoot up his spine._

 _[1 hour later]_

 _"I mean, I'm not saying LeBron is_ bad _per say…I'm just saying that he's a bit cocky, that's all."_

 _"Of course he's a bit cocky! He's the best player in the world! He's even better than Jordan now."_

 _"No way," Ginny argued. "No one could ever be better than Jordan."_

 _"You're wrong," Harry teased, subconsciously inching closer to her. "Always stubborn, aren't you?"_

 _"Oh, you're one to talk," Ginny smiled, a blazing look on her face. "You're the most stubborn person I've ever met!"_

 _"Birds of a feather," he said, without thinking. Ginny was looking into Harry's face deeply now, her soft brown eyes making Harry feel peculiarly warm. His mind was racing, and the alcohol was buzzing through his veins._

 _"What are you two doing?" Ron chimed in, suddenly standing there, causing Harry to jump back a bit._

 _"We're just talking," Harry mumbled._

 _Hermione appeared, breathless and a little flushed. "Ron, leave them alone, would you? Come on, Ernie was just about to give us a tour of the—"_

 _"So why don't you go off with Ernie then, hm? If he's so interesting then…"_

 _Hermione crossed her arms and groaned. "You're such an idiot, sometimes," she told him, and turned on her heel and stormed away._

 _"Ron," cried Ginny. "What are you doing? Letting her go off alone with some frat guy? You like her don't you?"_

 _"She's not interested. She—"_

 _"Of course she is! Are you blind? Honestly, the way she looks at you…and you back at her…and you're just going to blow it like that?"_

 _Ron stared, confused, at both Harry and Ginny. He seemed to be struggling with staying near them to make sure nothing happened, or going after Hermione. He scratched his head, sighed in defeat, and took the beer can out of Harry's hand and took a large gulp. "You better be right about this, Gin," he said, before following in the direction Hermione had just went in a minute before._

 _Harry looked at Ginny, and made a decision. "Want to get out of here?"_

 _[25 minutes later]_

 _"What are you doing?" she asked nervously as Harry interlaced his fingers with hers as they sat facing each other on Harry's bed._

 _"I—" He shook his head, trying to gain some confidence. "I miss you."_

 _Her brown eyes turned golden as tears filled them but refused to leave. "I…I miss you too, Harry. Every day…"_

 _"I'm sorry it's had to be like this," he apologized, sincerely, squeezing her hand, inching his body slowly closer to hers. "You know I….I only didn't—I, er—"_

 _"I know, Harry," she said, half grinning. Harry grinned back at her, knowing she understood what he was trying to say even though all he could do was choke on his own words…she understood how bad he really did want to be with her, how much he regretted not ever being anything other than a physical relationship because he was afraid, how much he wished she wasn't hurting. "Always have to be the noble one, don't you?"_

 _Harry shrugged, becoming increasingly aware of just how close their faces were. "I, um…"_

 _Ginny laughed softly, and Harry could smell the liquor on her lips. "Sometimes, Potter," she said, their faces almost touching now, "Life is worth a little risk."_

 _And like that, they were kissing fiercely. It had been months since he had kissed her, and yet it felt like it was only yesterday. He had memorized the way her mouth moved so well, it was effortless to continue, all nerves and confusion melting away. Neither of them had the self-control to stop it from going further, so it did._

 _Harry and Ginny had both been with other people sexually since Harry had graduated from their high school and gone off to college, but it didn't erase the passion and longing they still had for each other. In fact, most of the others, for the both of them, were mere distractions._

 _They had woken up the next morning to the sunlight shining in their eyes. It was 8am. Harry absentmindedly leaned over and kissed Ginny, whispering, "Good morning."_

 _Ginny, however, did not return the same dreamy greeting. Instead, she sat up abruptly, putting her face in her hands._

 _"Ginny…I—what's the matter?"_

 _"This was a mistake," she whispered hoarsely. "We…we shouldn't have….we're lucky Ron didn't come back…I—"_

 _She got up rather quickly and started picking up her scattered clothes from the floor and putting them back on._

 _"I'm confused," Harry confessed, sitting up. "Didn't….didn't you say life was worth a little risk?"_

 _"The alcohol said it, not me," she dismissed, throwing her shirt over her head. "I can't believe I let myself…"_

 _"Hold on, just…just hold on one fucking second, alright?" Harry said, feeling angry suddenly, which was agitating, since he had just woken up much happier than he had been in a while. "I don't get you! I thought…I….I wanted to be with you last night. I…Didn't you?"_

 _"Of course I did," she cried, exasperated. "That's why it was a mistake! A stupid, drunken mistake."_

 _"How was it a mistake?" Harry demanded to know. "And you're really going to blame this on alcohol? Really?"_

 _"Yes, because, well….well, okay, maybe it wasn't_ entirely _the alcohol's fault, but it played a part! I was so determined on having self control this weekend. I didn't even think you'd still…want me like that after being here. And I knew if I let this happen it'd be a mistake because I'd be right back to where I started the day you left!"_

 _She stood there, staring down at him with an angry face but sad eyes. "Ginny," he called her softly. "It…it doesn't...I don't….I wish I had the answers. But, please don't be mad about this, all right? It…it was wonderful. Really. I really have missed you."_

 _The sincerity in Harry's voice made Ginny's anger at herself subside, sinking away as she sat back on the bed next to him. "I'm sorry," she whispered, her eyes searching his face. "It's just been difficult, that's all…"_

 _Harry then had a thought. "Maybe…maybe it wouldn't be so difficult if we tried to stay friends."_

 _She raised an eyebrow at him and said, "Don't you think that'd make it_ more _difficult?"_

 _"No," he argued. "I think it's been so hard since I left because we_ haven't _stayed friends…and now that we've, you know, had space and some time, maybe being friends could work."_

 _"Maybe," she contemplated, sighing and looking down at her hands in her lap. Harry grabbed them, interlacing his fingers with hers. She looked back up at him with a flushed face, and squeezed his hands in hers. Harry leaned towards her and kissed her, and Ginny reciprocated for a few moments until she started to laugh. "Friends don't do that, Harry, remember? That's friends_ with _benefits. We've done that before. This is supposed to be friends_ without _benefits."_

 _"Well…maybe we don't have to start this friends without benefits thing until you go back home. Good plan?" And before Ginny could even retort, Harry was kissing her again, deeply, and all the things Ginny was going to say dissolved away._

 _Around an hour later, they had heard Ron's voice on the phone with his and Ginny's mother, and so they were able to break apart, Ginny going to Ron's bed and pretending as if she slept there while Harry hurriedly threw his t-shirt back on as Ron fumbled with his keys to unlock the door. He had finally opened the door, saying "She's doing fine Mom, she's right here, if you really want to take her word for it over mine!"_

 _Ginny smirked at Harry, and Ron rolled his eyes at his mother's response and passed the phone to Ginny, telling her, "She's crazy, you handle her."_

 _Ginny soothed her mother's worries as Ron, who seemed deep in thought, changed out of the clothes he was wearing the night before into something more comfortable. He took an apple out of the mini fridge as Ginny reassured their mother that Ron was being a great brother and she was totally safe and having a good time and that she'd be back home soon. She hung up the phone, but kept it in her hands._

 _"Gin, can I have my phone please?"_

 _"Only if you tell me and Harry where you were last night," she smiled maliciously._

 _"You're almost as bad as mom," Ron snorted, sitting next to Ginny on his bed. "Now, give it here."_

 _"Tell us, Ron! Did you and Hermione…well, anything?"_

 _"No," Ron confessed. "But I did stay in her room last night."_

 _"In the same bed?" Harry asked._

 _Ron bit into his apple and nodded._

 _Ginny started hitting Ron excitedly on the arm, screaming with glee. "And?"_

 _"And nothing," he said, bashfully. "Really. We were just sitting and talking in her bed, I was apologizing for being an asshole—"_

 _"—and rightfully so," chimed in Ginny._

 _"—not the point," Ron dismissed her. "Anyway, we really were just talking, but, I don't know…I was so tired that I lost my awareness of consciousness. We just sort of…ended up falling asleep together…she was—cuddling me, sort of."_

 _"OH MY—"_

 _"Gin, it was nothing," he said. "We woke up this morning and both pretended it didn't happen."_

 _"You're an idiot," Ginny cried. "An idiot!"_

 _"Have to agree with your sister, man," said Harry. "What a missed opportunity."_

 _"A lost cause."_

 _"Should've at least_ tried _to kiss her."_

 _"I couldn't— I…I just…It's—" Ron stammered, seeming upset. "Nothing's ever going to happen with us. I just…got to accept it."_

 _"How can you say that, Ron!" said Ginny, grabbing his shoulder. "You guys wouldn't have fucking_ cuddled _if that was really true!"_

 _"It's just…it's complicated. Me and her…I just…how would it ever work out?" Ron took another bite of his apple and took his phone back from Ginny's hands, putting it next to his pillow. "I want to go back to sleep. Can you go back on your air mattress, Gin?"_

 _"Should I invite Hermione over to go back to sleep with you?"_

 _"Shut up," groaned Ron, tossing his half eaten apple at her._

 _"You're being ridiculous," Harry told him. "Of course it would work out with Hermione. You—"_

 _"Harry," Ron said, sounding more tired emotionally than physically. "Just drop it for now, alright?"_

 _"Okay, sorry," Harry backed off. Ron rolled over as Ginny got off Ron's bed to sleep on the air mattress meant for her, exchanging a look with Harry, that half said something about being worried about Ron, and the other half saying she'd rather be in bed with him than on the floor._

 _He smiled at her, knowing that they most likely wouldn't get the chance to do anything more before she left. But they were going to be friends now…they could do that, right?_

* * *

"Harry," Ginny breathed, her face flushing slightly as she saw him standing at her door.

He walked in to her empty room and shut the door behind him. They were standing very close to each other. "We're not friends anymore, Ginny," he told her, staring at her intensely.

"What?" she asked, looking confused, but not letting her eyes leave Harry's either.

"We're not friends anymore. Not friends without benefits, not friends with benefits… We're done with that, alright?"

"I—" Ginny tried, looking as if she might tear up, still confused, her warm brown eyes pulling at Harry's heartstrings. "What do you mean?"

To answer, Harry grabbed both sides of her face and kissed her.

* * *

 **A/N: i hope you guys liked the 2nd chapter! this story, as you could probably guess, is going to be a lot of back and forth from the past and the present. i thought it'd be a cool way to tell the story, and i hope you think so too! PLLEAAASEEEEEE REVIEW! It'd make me very happy :)**


	3. The Spinning Room

**A/N: hope you guys like this chapter! please review :)**

* * *

 _[February, 2013]_

 _"I mean…it's…you are very close to me," Ginny observed._

 _Harry felt nervous; a new feeling he was not accustomed to. "Is that…bad?"_

 _"No," Ginny breathed shortly, her forehead creased, her eyes focusing hard on Harry. "Just…stating a fact."_

 _Harry felt his legs shaking, unsure of what to do next. They were completely alone, face-to-face, their bodies practically touching…isn't this what he'd been picturing for months? Why couldn't he move? He felt as if he were frozen, though his heart was yelling at him to do something._

 _Ginny's mouth lifted into a grin, causing Harry to feel as something from his stomach shot up into his throat, leaving him unable to say anything. It seemed as if Ginny could tell, for she had an amused look on her face. "What are we doing?" she asked softly._

 _"Um, I…" Harry attempted, but he couldn't think of how to answer. "I, er…"_

 _"You have such a way with words, Harry," Ginny teased, her smile broadening._

 _Her striking smile is what sparked a bit of courage inside of his chest. He only had to move a fraction of an inch to be where he wanted to be. He stared at her hard, laughed, and said, "I… don't know what I'm doing."_

 _Her smile softened slowly as she whispered, practically against him, "I think you do."_

 _She had a blazing, intense look upon her face, and in that moment, Harry moved so close he was only a centimeter away from Ginny. "You're right," he whispered, and then crushed his lips against hers._

 _It was a winter's day, but it felt as if he had splashed head first into the warm ocean on a summer's day for the very first time, covering his entire body, inside and out, as if he were drowning in the most beautiful way imaginable. The instant warmth spreading through him as Ginny's lips reacted against his own caused him to feel as if he were going to lose his balance. Almost simultaneously, Harry put one hand on Ginny's face and the other in her hair as Ginny put her hands on his chest, both of them instinctively deepening the kiss. Harry seemed to lose all awareness besides the feel of Ginny for the next few blissful and exciting minutes._

 _Ginny, at some point or another – Harry had lost track of time— pulled away, breathing frantically, and her face beaming. "Wait, wait…wait one second," she told him, half laughing. "The room is spinning."_

* * *

An hour passed, but now time was frozen as Ginny placed her head on Harry's shoulder and her hand across his chest, breathing slowly against him. Harry wrapped his arms around her, the warmth of her body against him feeling like a blanket. He felt like he had just gotten home after a long time away. He closed his eyes for a few minutes, breathing in sync with Ginny.

Suddenly, she looked up at him, smiled, and started to kiss him again. Harry reciprocated, then chuckled and pulled away. "You've got to give me a minute," he almost whispered, grinning at her, putting a piece of her hair behind her ear. "The room is spinning."

Ginny rolled her eyes but smiled brightly at those words, which Harry had in the past brought up time and time again as to poke fun at her for saying it after their very first kiss—But Harry felt it this time, too.

"Oh, sure, make fun of me for that again, won't you?"

"I'm serious!" insisted Harry, kissing her head and then putting his head back down on the pillow and closing his eyes. He knew he was avoiding the inevitable—a real talk—but he soaked up every moment of pure bliss he could with Ginny in his arms again, struggling to keep down the anxiety he felt over Ginny's possible answers to the questions he had.

A few more minutes passed in comfortable silence, a few soft kisses exchanged, a few synchronized sighs of happiness…Harry squeezing Ginny closer to him, Ginny tracing her finger along Harry's chest…Harry's conscious was telling him he needed to say something of value, get the conversation started so things could finally be sorted out.

As if she read his mind, Ginny suddenly put her hand on Harry's cheek, moving his face towards her. "So, this thing about not being friends anymore…"

"Right," Harry sighed, reluctantly sitting up, reaching over to Ginny's bedside table to put his glasses back on so he could look at her properly.

Harry did have a structured conversation planned out in his head, with a responsible way to approach it. But, Ginny sitting exposed in front of him, made his feelings take control.

"Why did you date Dean?"

Ginny seemed puzzled by the question, and started biting her lip: a nervous habit Harry noticed she subtly engaged in whenever they had had conversations like these in the past.

"Harry…"

"Please, just…answer the question."

She breathed, looking around the room, as if the answer was written on the walls. "A little bit to spite you," she admitted. "A little bit because I thought maybe I liked him, a lot more to get over you and finally move on…didn't work, though."

 _A little bit to spite you_ : it stung Harry even though he'd known it all along. He had just had an hour of warm bliss, and now was pulled out, back into cold reality.

He felt bitterness spreading inside of him. "To spite me," he repeated.

Ginny sighed, biting her lip again, covering Harry's hand with her own. "Harry…I just—Well, what else was I supposed to do? Watch you hook up with random girls at parties all the time—"

"It was only once," he muttered, not liking to think of his stupid mistake from the previous school year.

"—and just sit back and wait for you forever? I thought…I don't know…I thought when I'd come to school here we'd pick up where we left off…and by that I mean actually, you know, _be_ together…not—not just this friends with benefits thing."

"I don't want that anymore," Harry told her, squeezing her hand. "I mean, that's why I came here tonight, isn't it?"

"I know, Harry," she said, sounding tired. "But…last year—that's what you wanted still, and it …hurt."

Harry's heart sank at the words. "Ginny, you know I never, ever wanted to hurt you, right? And it wasn't _what I_ wanted—I was trying to…I don't know… I didn't want your whole college experience to be about me! Maybe you would find someone better and be happier…"

"Don't be stupid," she argued.

"I'm not being stupid," he told her. "I mean, look at you…You're like—you _are_ the most beautiful person I've ever seen…I couldn't let you just—just settle on me, someone you've known since you were ten years old—"

She interrupted him with a very soft, mind-robbing kiss, his thoughts evaporating. He opened his eyes and saw Ginny looking more vulnerable than she usually did. "You're still being stupid."

"Gin," he murmured. "I just…I wanted you to have all your options in front of you, you know? I didn't want to be the reason you missed out on…on someone better."

"You're an idiot," she smiled kindly. "There's no one better."

"Liar," he grinned, putting a hand on her face. She closed her eyes, sighing heavily.

"Well, you know…having sex with me or kissing me any time one of us was free wasn't exactly the best method to get me to find someone better," she pointed out. "And just continually messed with my head."

"I know," he admitted, stroking her cheek. "And I'm sorry…Half of me wanted to do the right thing, and the other half of me was too selfish for my own good," he told her, smiling in spite of himself. "It was stupid, I know, I know."

"Glad you finally see the light," she mumbled.

"But just because I wanted you to have a college experience outside of me doesn't mean I didn't want to be with you…of course I did."

"Then you should have—"

"By the time I finally convinced myself," he interjected. "I found out the next day you and Dean were together." Ginny blushed, looking away from Harry as Harry let go of her face now. "I thought, you know…maybe I was right this whole time…"

"You weren't," she said strongly, looking up at him. "I told you, I did it just…just to prove something, or…I don't know—but not because you…not because you weren't good enough for me, or anything like that. Okay?"

Harry could see the honesty in her eyes, and he nodded. "Yeah…Okay. But…why did you say you needed to sort things out? What do you need to sort out, anyway?"

Ginny brought her knees to her chest, hugging them. "I'm just worried."

"About what?"

"That…that if we actually did this…for real…you'd…I don't know—get sick of me, realize you never really wanted to be with me and you just thought you did, think that you'd been wasting all this time with me, and—"

"Now _you're_ the one being stupid," Harry said, feeling saddened by her words. Ginny was usually so confident and self-assured, and he was making her doubt herself. "How could you think that?"

"How could I not?" she retorted. "How could I not after the constant back and forth game we've been playing for years now? How could I not after having feelings for you since I was fucking _ten_ and feeling rejected for so many years, and then when I thought you finally might want to be with me too, it was just the stupid friends with benefits game, and—"

"Ginny, how many times do I have to tell you…I _did_ want to be with you. I told you my reasoning, I was just being stupid."

"Fine, but I didn't _know_ your reasoning until now, you know? The whole 'friends with benefits' thing really fucks with a girl's head…like you only wanted my body, not the rest of me."

Ginny pulled her eyes away from Harry's, looking as if she were about to cry. Harry immediately put his hands back to her face, lifting her chin so she was looking up at him. "Hey," he whispered, wiping a tear falling from her eye. She hardly ever cried, so he knew how much she must have been hurting from this. "Don't you ever, ever think that again. All right? I want you for all of you…I always have…life, and illogical thinking just…got in the way. I want you because of every single thing about you. Don't ever think otherwise, alright?"

She bit her lip again, and nodded, shutting her eyes. "Alright."

"Please believe that, okay?"

She kept her eyes closed while she answered, "I believe you."

Harry wiped another tear away and placed a kiss gently against her mouth. "Ginny," he breathed, and she opened her eyes. "I just want to be with you. I want you to be my girlfriend…no more games. I want us to be together…I know it might be hard, seeing as you've somehow convinced yourself I would never want you like this…but you've got to believe me that I do… How much it's killed me seeing you with Dean instead of me…." The rest of what he wanted to say got stuck in his throat.

She looked at him contemplatively. She put a hand to his face, caressing his cheek. She stared deeply into his eyes, making his insides jump with emotion. After a few moments that seemed like eternity, she smiled slightly. "I want to be with you, too, Harry."

Harry beamed at her, his heart nearly banging out of his chest with excitement. "Really? You're sure?"

She laughed, sweeping her hand from Harry's cheek to his neck. "Yeah. Really, I'm sure. Of course I'm sure. I've been waiting for this since I was ten," she beamed back at him, and then pulled him in and kissed him in such a way she had never kissed him before. Harry felt in a daze as he grabbed her and kissed her back with all he had, laughing and smiling in between every kiss. Harry felt as if his face was stretched into a permanent smile, happiness shooting through him like he had never known.

After how long, he did not know, but he pulled away from her again, opened his eyes and smiled and simply said, "The room."

Ginny smirked and pushed him. "It's always spinning with you, idiot."

* * *

"What do you think my chances of survival are today?" Harry asked Ginny the next morning, walking with her to the dining hall for breakfast after Harry had successfully snuck back into his room, Ron sound asleep, to change his clothes from yesterday and collect his books and backpack. Harry and Ginny even went on an early morning walk around campus before going to breakfast, both feeling a lot more joyous than either of them had felt in a while.

"Hm, depends," she said, grabbing his hand. "Are you actually going to tell him?"

"Can't you do it?" he requested hopefully, squeezing her hand. "He can't kill you, you're his sister. You're safer."

"Extremely logical," Ginny chuckled, rolling her eyes at him. "It's got to be you. That was the deal."

"Do I have to tell him today? Can I have some time to prepare?"

"Prepare?" Ginny scoffed.

"I should probably wear some solid armor under my clothing, that way if anything I'll only have mild injuries."

"He's not going to kill you," she promised him. "He loves you more than me, anyway."

"No he does not—"

"Oh, be quiet. You can tell him whenever you want, I suppose," she said slowly as they entered the dining hall. "But, I'm not going to help you keep the secret."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning…I'm not going to refrain or hold myself back to help you in your cowardice—"

"I am _not_ a coward," Harry exclaimed.

"—and so I'm going to do whatever I want around you whenever I want. Like this," she said, and then pulled his face down level to hers and kissed him hard on the mouth. Harry momentarily forgot where they were, and then after a few stolen seconds he pulled away from her.

"We're in public, Gin," Harry whispered, trying to hide the obvious smirk on his face and failing miserably.

Ginny raised her eyebrows. "So? _I've_ got nothing to hide," she proclaimed proudly.

"Not even from, I don't know, Dean, who you only broke up with two days ago, who is entering the dining hall as we speak?"

Her eyes widened and her face became as bright as her hair, as she turned around, spotted Dean, and then turned back to Harry. "I don't know you," she said, and then ran to the cereal options.

Harry rolled his eyes, shaking his head and going to wait on the pancake line. After going through Reddit on his phone for a minute, someone came up behind him and started to hug him.

"HARRY!" they yelled, hugging him extremely tight. Harry recognized the voice as Hermione's.

"Hi Hermione. To what do I owe this pleasant suffocation?"

She let go of him and he turned around to face her. She was absolutely beaming. "I'm just so happy!"

"Yes, I can tell! What about?"

"You!" she squealed, hitting his chest.

"Ouch!" he proclaimed. "Hermione, what's going on?"

"What do you mean what's going on?" she said. "You and Ginny are going on, that's what!"

"Wait a second…How the hell do you even _know_ that already?" he asked, confused.

"She told me, obviously. She's one of my best friends, in case you've forgotten."

"Really? Never knew," he said sarcastically. "But when did she even tell you? It just happened last night and we've been with each other since, well, until she made a bee line for the cereal when we saw Dean walk in, precisely 90 seconds ago."

"She texted me while you were asleep," she told him, going in for another hug. "Oh, Harry, I'm just so happy for you guys!"

Harry laughed as he hugged her back. "Thanks Hermione….I'm really happy, too," he said, catching himself smiling at his own words. Then he realized something as he pulled away. "Er, you didn't happen to, um, tell Ron this, did you?"

"Do you think I'm stupid?" she asked, looking a tad insulted but also amused. "That's your job, not mine. As far as he knows, I don't know a thing."

"How long do you think I can avoid telling him?" Harry asked hopefully.

"Knowing you two, maybe around 5 minutes. And heads up, he should be down any second," she informed him.

Harry suddenly got very nervous, unsure of what to do. He came down here with Ginny, and now Ron was going to be here any moment…he didn't want to upset Ron with the news that his best friend and his sister were officially dating, at least, not yet. But how was he supposed to avoid telling him?

Hermione interrupted his thoughts. "Oh, stop looking so worried, Harry! I'm sure he'll be…There he is. Make a run for it, I'll distract him."

Harry grabbed his pancakes and went to go get some orange juice as fast as he could. As he was impatiently filling up his cup, Ginny appeared behind him. "Why in such a rush, Harry?" she asked sarcastically.

"Rush? Who's in a rush?" Harry said nervously, taking his full glass of juice. He glanced over at Ron and Hermione to make sure Ron was not facing them, looked around to make sure Dean was not in sight, and then gave Ginny a quick kiss on the cheek once he knew he was in the clear and said, "I just, erm, want to get my breakfast and…and go to the library! I have that research paper I've got to edit…I'll see you later, yeah?"

Ginny put her free hand not holding her cereal on her hip and laughed. "Good one," she said, raising an eyebrow as Harry smiled at her and started walking towards the cashier.

"I'll see you later?"

"If you're lucky!" she shouted out to him.

Harry stood on line impatiently waiting to pay for his breakfast, when Ron appeared behind him, clapping him on the back. "Yo," he greeted him casually. "When did you get back in last night?"

"Back in?" Harry asked, nervously. "To our room, you mean? Oh…late, yeah really late. You were dead asleep by the time I got back."

Hermione smirked at his incapability to keep it cool, but Harry shot her a death glare.

"What were you doing?"

"Oh, I, was um, in the library writing my paper…Yeah, I, uh, actually have to go finish the paper up now, so I'm going to bring my breakfast to the library…Really busy lately, you know… trying to pull a 4.0"

"Stayed all night in the library doing work?" Ron asked, scratching his head. "You're spending too much time with Hermione."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" she shot at him, crossing her arms.

Ron rolled his eyes at her, but put his arm around her anyway. "Have fun in the library, Harry. I need some bacon… Don't look at me like that, Hermione, it was just a joke before!"

"See you guys later," Harry said, relief washing over him as he handed his student ID card to the cashier to pay for his food. As he walked towards the door to head off to the library, he paused and caught a glimpse of Ginny, talking excitedly to Hermione in whispers on line to pay, Ron nowhere in sight (most likely filling up his plate to its maximum capacity, as per usual). The sight of her smiling in such a way, knowing it was because of him, because they were finally, _finally_ doing this for real, made his stomach give a little jolt, and Ginny caught his eye and he beamed at her, before waving goodbye and heading out to the library. He suddenly became frustrated with himself for being so afraid for Ron to know that he was dating his sister.

He knew he wouldn't be elated with happiness, as Harry himself was currently feeling, but he hoped he'd be happy for them…shouldn't he be? Ron knew Harry had feelings for her, he knew they had a history…but he was so consistently on and off about how he felt about them even glancing at each other, that he was totally clueless as to how Ron would react. He didn't want him constantly on top of them watching their every move, but mostly he just didn't want anything to affect his friendship with Ron, who was like a brother to him. The thought of the possibility of their friendship being severed made Harry feel extraordinarily anxious.

Harry mulled over the matter instead of actually editing his paper…and he mulled it over all day, unable to stop his nervous thoughts over the matter. He felt a little more relaxed when he met up with Ginny for lunch, and they ate outside together under a tree…until his phone buzzed with a text from Ron asking if he was getting lunch with him and Hermione.

"Stop looking so worried," Ginny told him, closing his phone for him and putting it down. "It's going to be okay, I promise! He's your best friend, have some faith in him."

Harry sighed, rubbing his eyes under his glasses, feeling tired. "You don't know how protective he is of you…"

"Harry," she said softly, putting her hand on his. "You have to relax. Okay? You can tell him whenever you're ready. I won't try to get in the way of that now, I promise…but I think you're just stressing yourself out over nothing."

He breathed deeply, squeezing her hand. "I don't know…"

She smiled at him. "Trust me."

Her confidence in Ron allowed Harry to breathe easier, giving him the slightest edge of confidence, too. "I trust you," he assured her. He took his phone back and told Ron that he couldn't make it to lunch but he'd see them for dinner. Feeling slightly guilty still but a little calmer than before, Harry laid his head down on Ginny's lap, closing his eyes as she ran her fingers smoothly through his untidy hair.

* * *

 _[February, 2013]_

 _"So," Harry said, unsurely. He was alone with Ginny in her room on a Friday night. Her parents were over at one of Mr. Weasley's work friends for dinner. There had only been three times, before this time, that Harry and Ginny had engaged in their newfound physical relationship._

 _"So, what?" she smirked, inching closer to him. "You know, you're not very good at this whole casual thing."_

 _He scratched his head, chuckling at his nervousness. He looked into her eyes, and suddenly his nerves seemed to relax. He put his arm around Ginny's waist, pulling her against him. "I'm working on it," he whispered, before kissing her passionately._

 _It wasn't long before they moved to the bed. Harry felt as if he was on fire every time Ginny deepened their kiss, or ran her fingers through his messy hair, or let her hands wander further and further down. Harry broke apart from her, gave her a knowing look, and put his hands on the bottom of her shirt. She smirked, sitting up, and let him take it off of her. She kissed him quickly before doing the same to him. He laid back on top of her, Ginny allowing him to explore her body for a bit, both with his hands and his mouth, until he reached back to her face once more, roughly kissing her lips as if his life depended on it. Ginny grabbed his face to slow down and soften the kiss, which drove Harry mad, in a good way._

 _His arm snaked around her back, about ready to unclasp her bra, when at that precise moment, the door was opened. "Ginny, did Mom tell you if— WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?"_

 _Harry and Ginny broke apart as fast as they could. Harry felt his ears burning in embarrassment, looking as fast as he could for his shirt. He knew if he didn't hurry, Ron would kill him._

 _Ginny, however, let no flicker of embarrassment cross her face. "You know, Ron. Normally before you enter a room, you're supposed to knock."_

 _Harry threw his shirt over his head, grabbed his phone and his keys, and tried to figure out a way to get past Ron without being strangled. "Well, Gin, Ron, it was nice seeing you both! Have a good night, yeah?" He flashed a smile at Ginny, and then broke into a run._

 _Harry was very fast, but unfortunately for Harry, Ron was much taller than he was, and used his limbs to block every open space of the door for Harry to get through. "What—the HELL—do you think—you're doing—with my SISTER?"_

 _Ron's face was only inches away from Harry. Harry felt scared, but tried not to show it. "Ron!" Ginny screamed, getting up and trying to get between them._

 _"Stay—out of this—Gin," Ron sneered, keeping his eyes on Harry, unwavering._

 _"Stay out of it?" she laughed. "I think if anyone, YOU should be the one staying out of this!"_

 _"You're joking, right?" he said, snapping his head to face Ginny. "You're my sister! He's my BEST FRIEND!"_

 _"And it's our business, not yours!" she shouted back at him, distracting him enough to finally stand in between Ron and Harry so that they couldn't hurt each other. Ron was much taller than Ginny, though, so Harry was still able to see his face._

 _"Ron," Harry spoke softly behind Ginny's back, trying not to enrage him anymore. "I'm sorry you…had to see that, but—"_

 _"Oh, you're SORRY!" Ron scoffed._

 _"He doesn't have to be," Ginny said sternly. "Neither one of us have to abide by your wishes, Ron. We're free people, you know!"_

 _Ron seemed at lost for words, unable to muster anything else up to shout. Harry was holding his breath, still preparing for the worst. Ginny stood her ground, her arms crossed, staring at Ron intensely. After what could have been a century of tense silence, Ron spoke again. "Fine. Fine…I should have knocked. Maybe it's not my ENTIRE business, but it's some of my business, all right? Can you just…I don't know, tell me what's going on here?"_

 _"Nothing's going on," Ginny answered. "We're just—"_

 _"Gin, it's okay," Harry said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "How about I…I talk to Ron about this alone. Okay?"_

 _Ginny turned around, raising an eyebrow at him curiously. "Why?"_

 _"Just…just trust me."_

 _She searched his face for a moment, trying to figure out from his eyes what he was up to, but in the end resigned. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just, please don't kill each other."_

 _"No promises," Ron grunted, storming out the door._

 _Harry waited until Ron was out of sight, kissed Ginny passionately but quickly on the mouth and said, "Wish me luck," before following Ron's lead away from her room._

 _Ron stomped heavily towards his own room up another flight of stairs, Harry behind him. They reached Ron's room, and as soon as Harry walked in Ron slammed the door._

 _"Ron, just hear me out."_

 _His fists were clenched and his ears were bright red, but he resigned by grunting with a nod. Harry paced the room a bit before gaining the courage to speak._

 _'Look, I…I'm sorry you had to see that—"_

 _"How long has this been going on?" Ron interrupted._

 _"Not long," Harry responded. "Only like, two weeks."_

 _Ron narrowed his eyes, studying Harry's face. "All right… Go on."_

 _Harry sighed, feeling nervous about actually being upfront and honest about his feelings with Ron. They were the very best of friends, but very rarely spoke about their feelings…they kind of just figured things out on their own or watched things play out themselves. Sure, when Harry was with Cho and Ron with Lavender, they discussed it—to an extent…but never in enough detail where either of them was pouring their heart out to one another. Harry decided, though, that desperate times call for desperate measures._

 _"Listen, Ron," Harry said, avoiding his gaze. "I…I have….feelings for Ginny, alright?"_

 _Ron's face slowly shifted from angry to calm, with a hint of shock. "You…you do?"_

 _Harry nodded, feeling a little more comfortable watching Ron's anger subside. "Yeah. I do. I've been having this…this—I don't know, internal battle, I guess, about it for a few months, because I didn't want to hurt you, and I especially didn't want you to find out this way—"_

 _"That makes two of us," Ron said, with a tint of light-heartedness now in his voice._

 _Harry smirked, but continued explaining. "But…it's not like we're going out or anything. We're just…I don't know—"_

 _"Fooling around?" Ron interjected, the anger in his voice returning._

 _"No! I mean, well, technically, yeah. But it's not like that! I mean, it's not like I'm using her or something. I just told you I have feelings for her, didn't I?"_

 _"So why don't you just go out with her then?"_

 _Harry put a hand through his messy hair, taking a deep breath. He had asked himself this question, too, many times, and though he was stubborn with his final decision, he still was upset with himself over it. "Because…Ron, we're graduating in a few months, and then we're going off to college, and Ginny will still be here. I just…I know if we get_ too _involved, it will just be way too hard to say goodbye…and then…I don't want her to waste her senior year waiting for me or something, you know? Or for it to not work out and then it was for nothing? I don't know if I'm making sense…I just…I can't stay away from her, but I can't get too close to her either."_

 _He met Ron's gaze. His face was unreadable. They looked at each other for a few long moments before Harry spoke again._

 _"Do you…understand?"_

 _Ron looked at him, blankly. "Yeah, I understand."_

 _"And is it…er, okay with you?"_

 _Ron sighed. "Yeah, I mean…I guess. There's nothing I can do to stop you. Just—don't mess with her."_

 _Harry nodded, feeling an odd mixture of relief and anxiety._

 _"And maybe lock the door next time?"_

* * *

"And you're sure this is a good idea?" Harry asked again later that night, nervously.

"Harry," Hermione sighed for what seemed like the thousandth time. "You have to do it. You know you have to."

Harry gulped, closing his eyes. He could do this.

"If you really think that this would make Ron hate you or something, then you don't know Ron as well as you think you do," she said.

"Hey, I've known him for nine years, Hermione! You've only known him for two."

"It's not a competition," Hermione laughed, rolling her eyes. "But, if it was, I'd win anyway. See, we actually are _honest_ with each other and _talk_ about how we feel."

"Yeah, yeah," Harry dismissed her, just as Ron re-entered their room from the bathroom.

Ron sat on his bed, putting his head on Hermione's lap. "Remind me to never eat the tacos from the dining hall, ever again."

Hermione rolled her eyes in disgust. "Noted," she said, patting his head.

They sat there in silence for about twenty seconds, Hermione darkly glancing at Harry, who was too nervous to open his mouth. Hermione took matters into her own hands. "Ron, Harry has something he wants to tell you."

Harry threw a death glare at her, but she merely smiled as Ron sat up and looked at him. "What's up?" he asked.

Harry took a deep breath, knowing he couldn't avoid it now. "Well, I, uh, just have to tell you something…"

"Is everything alright?" Ron asked, raising an eyebrow. "You sound upset or something."

"No, not upset. Everything is fine," Harry assured him. "Great, actually…Uh, I just…Well, things are great, because…because..."

There was another awkward silence, until, "Oh my GOD, Harry," Hermione groaned. "Ron, what Harry is trying to tell you is that he and Ginny are dating. Officially. For real. The end."

"Thanks Hermione," Harry sneered.

"You're very welcome," she said sarcastically.

Ron looked first at Hermione, who smiled at him and put her hand on his. Then, after he squeezed her hand back, he looked at Harry. To Harry's pleasant surprise, he did not seem angry nor ready to kill him at any moment. He seemed, well, happy.

"For real?" he asked.

"Yeah," Harry said, relief rushing over him. "For real. No more friends with benefits, or whatever…I mean, if that's okay with you."

"Okay with me?" Ron laughed. "Of course it's okay with me! This is awesome, dude! You and Gin…You're the only one for her, anyway."

Harry felt absolutely flabbergasted. Hermione was looking at Ron with admiration, beaming. Harry could not believe how well this went….and he was having mental breakdowns over it all day, flashing back to the first time Ron found out about the two of them.

"You…you're sure?"

"Yeah, man! Even if I weren't, that wouldn't stop you two, would it? This is years in the making…Took a little too long, if you ask me."

Harry, still bewildered at Ron's reaction, smiled thankfully at his best friend. "Thanks, Ron. Really, it…Thanks."

Ron smiled back at him. "Yeah, you know. I'm great."

Hermione absolutely beamed at the both of them. "See, Harry!" she said, putting her head on Ron's shoulder. "I told you there was nothing to worry about."

"Worry about?" Ron repeated, looking at Harry. "You were worried, why?"

"Because, she's your sister!" Harry exclaimed. "You've gotten pretty protective of her around me in the past…even just the other morning!"

"I—I don't—What are you even talking about—Protective…" Ron stammered.

"Oh, please, Ron," Hermione sighed on him. "Don't play dumb."

He shrugged her off his shoulder. "I'm not playing dumb!"

"You just are dumb," said Harry.

"Hey—I could take back my permission any time I want."

"Permission," Hermione laughed. "You're cute, Ron."

"Cute?" he asked, rolling his eyes. "I'm serious!"

"Whatever you say, man," Harry said, smiling. Everything was falling into place.

Until the knock on the door.

"Come in," Ron called.

The door practically burst open, and before Harry, Ron, or Hermione could process exactly what was happening, Dean Thomas was standing over Harry, and the last thing he saw was Dean's fist flying towards his face before the room started spinning, and then turned black.


	4. Counting Freckles

**A/N: Hey guys! Hope you like this chapter, and please review! :)**

* * *

 _[November 2012]_

 _"Oh, hi, Ginny!" Harry greeted her warmly. "How are you?"_

 _She gave a weak smile and closed her locker. "Fine," was all she said, before whipping her long red hair over her shoulders to her back, walking in the opposite direction of him._

 _He turned to Ron. "Did I…do something?"_

 _Ron patted his shoulder. "And you say I'm clueless."_

 _"What?" Harry asked, confused. "What did I do?"_

 _Ron sighed, and was about to open his mouth to speak when suddenly, two small hands were shielding his eyes. "Guess who?" said a high, girlish voice._

 _Ron sighed again. "No clue," he said sarcastically. He took her hands off his eyes and put on a faint smile. "Hey, Lavender."_

 _He turned around, and Lavender kissed him full on the mouth, right in view of Harry, who pointedly looked at his feet. When they parted she said, "C'mon, Won, let's go to the student lounge…it's_ always _empty during fourth period."_

 _"Good idea," he said in monotone as she grabbed his hand and started dragging him to the staircase. He gave Harry a helpless look with his eyes while saying, "See you later, Harry."_

 _The bell had yet to ring, and Harry saw Ginny down the hall talking to one of his and Ron's friends, Neville Longbottom._

 _He decided to walk down there and ask Ginny if he did anything wrong. He'd known Ginny for so many years now, and it was very unlike her to ignore him or be cold to him. They had always gotten on really well, and even in the past few years they've gotten close to the point that Harry had started to consider her one of his best friends. He walked over to where they were standing, which was near Neville's locker. Neville was showing her something on his phone, talking enthusiastically. As he drew nearer, Neville put the phone in his pocket and continued to talk to Ginny._

 _"…and it's a really rare type—but they're so beautiful, aren't they? Oh, Hi, Harry!" said Neville._

 _"Hey, Neville," Harry greeted him back. "Talking about some plant?"_

 _"A flower, actually!" said Neville excitedly._

 _"You're going to be a great botanist one day, man," Harry told him, to which Neville beamed. "Do you mind if I just talk to Ginny for a bit in private?"_

 _Ginny's cheeks flushed, looking away from Harry to the ceiling. "Yeah, of course," Neville said, closing his locker. "I have to get to AP bio, anyway. I'll save you a seat?"_

 _"Yeah, thanks!" Harry told him. "Be there in a minute."_

 _"Bye Gin!" Neville waved to her, and then turned around to head to class._

 _He looked at Ginny, who was looking in the direction in which Neville was walking._

 _"Ginny," Harry said, cautiously. "Er…are you mad at me, or something?"_

 _Ginny met Harry's eyes, and Harry noticed they looked more golden than brown today. He wasn't sure why he took note of this._

 _"No," she said softly. "Of course not."_

 _"Did I do something wrong?"_

 _"No, Harry."_

 _He looked at her, confused. "So, how come you're acting different? It_ seems _like you're mad at me."_

 _She looked at him gently for a few moments, and then said, "I'm sorry if I've come off that way. I'm not mad at you, I promise. You did nothing wrong or anything. I'm just…going through my own thing right now. Okay? I didn't mean to take it out on you."_

 _Harry nodded, feeling a sense of relief knowing the fact that she wasn't mad at him, but still feeling bothered by the fact that Ginny was upset by something and was not acting like her usual cheery, energetic self. "It's okay, Gin. You know if something's wrong you can talk to me, right?"_

 _Ginny nodded, averting her eyes from his gaze and staring at the ground. "Thanks."_

 _He tried thinking of something else to say to make her feel better, when suddenly someone called his name. "Harry!" He turned his head and saw his girlfriend, Cho Chang, standing outside their AP Biology classroom. He had a crush on Cho ever since sophomore year, and they finally started dating last week. He smiled at her, and she said, "Are you coming?"_

 _"Yeah! Be there in a minute," he told her, waving. She smiled back at him and retreated back into the classroom._

 _He turned to Ginny, whose arms were now crossed, holding her books close to her chest, her face impassive. "Well, I'll see you later, Harry."_

 _She looked up at him quickly, Harry unable to read her expression. He tried a smile at her, and she one back, but he could tell the difference between her artificial smile now, for her usual one lit her entire face up, and she would get crinkles on the side of her eyes. Her eyes were blank, now. The bell rang, and Ginny sighed and walked away from him, towards her trigonometry class._

 _Harry stood there on the spot for a few moments before he walked to his classroom. As he walked, he couldn't help but fixate on how golden her eyes looked. He had only noticed it once before this time, when she had cried after the girls basketball team had lost the championship last year; he and Ron were comforting her after the loss with Arthur Weasley, her and Ron's father, and to make her feel better, Mr. Weasley told Ginny how pretty she looked when she cried, especially her eyes. Harry looked and saw they looked golden, but didn't think much of it then._

 _He was thinking about it now, though. He wondered if she had been crying today._

 _His thoughts of Ginny's eyes dissolved, however, once he sat down between Neville and Cho in biology, and Cho put her hand on Harry's, smiling at him._

* * *

Harry woke up to the muffled voice of Hermione, who sounded hysterical. Harry focused in on the sound of her voice so he could hear her more clearly. "Boys! And their stupid! Masculinity issues! Violence! And aggression! It's all…so…stupid," she breathed, and Harry could hear her crying.

"I'm sorry, Hermione," Ron nearly whispered. Harry opened his eyes, and saw the picture of Hermione's head buried in Ron's chest. He looked up at Ron's face. He had a bloody lip and a bruised cheek, and he was holding Hermione, who was shaking with what seemed like a mixture of rage and sadness. "I…I shouldn't have—Harry!" Ron caught Harry's opened eyes. Hermione's head snapped up from Ron's body looking at Harry. Her eyes were red and puffy, there were tear tracks on her face, and her hair seemed bushier and messier than usual. She practically jumped off of Ron, running to Harry.

"Harry, are you okay?"

"My head is banging," he said, and then suddenly felt his eye pulsing. "So is my eye. Where are my glasses?" he asked.

"Broken," Ron informed him, pointing at the floor wear his glasses laid, crushed.

"That's wonderful. What just happened…Where's Dean? Where'd he go? How long have I been out for?"

"Only a few minutes," Hermione told him. "It was all very quick. Harry, do you think you can sit up? I just want to make sure you don't need to go to the hospital."

He took all his energy to sit up, but he was able to. The room was a bit dizzy still, but he was okay.

"What happened?" he asked again.

"Well," Hermione breathed, wiping her eyes. "Dean came barging in here and punched you in the face. Ron immediately got up and started shouting at him, asking what he was doing. Dean started spewing off about how you are the reason he and Ginny broke up, and he saw you kissing this morning in the dining hall—"

"Great," Harry sighed sarcastically.

"I was confused, because Dean is never a violent or aggressive guy at all. Ron and I tried to calm him down, and then Dean started to…Well—"

"He called Ginny a whore," spat Ron. "I went after him. I couldn't stand to hear him say that—"

"You still shouldn't have hit him, Ron," Hermione said sternly.

"I know," he assured her. "But it happened. It's over. Anyway," he continued, looking back at Harry. "Then _we_ started fighting, both got a few good punches in, until Hermione successfully got us to back off each other. She held Dean by the arms, who backed off, and then she realized he was drunk…"

"His breath reeked of vodka," Hermione told him. "Anyway, I called him out on it, and then I guess he realized what he was actually doing. He apologized and started to cry—"

"He _cried?_ " Harry asked, bewildered.

"He was really intoxicated. And I told you; Dean is never like this! He must feel awful—"

"He fucking should feel awful!" Ron interrupted. "Punching Harry, insulting Ginny in such a foul way—"

"I know, Ron," Hermione responded, seeming short with him. "Anyway, he said he was sorry and left, promising he'd never bother us again…"

"Damn right, he won't," Harry murmured, putting his hand under his eye, and then looked at his fingers to see blood.

"Come on Harry, Ron," she called them. "Let's go to your bathroom. I'm going to run to my room and get some Neosporin and band-aids, and I think I have some lotion to help settle bruises. Please don't die while I'm gone," she said to the both of them, but looking at Ron. "I'll be right back."

She left their room, and then the suite, off to her room to get her supplies.

"I can't believe she's going to be _mad_ at me now for defending Ginny," Ron groaned as he lifted himself from his bed, walking slowly to the bathroom, Harry behind him.

"I would've knocked him the hell out myself if I had been conscious to hear him say it. So thanks," Harry told him. Harry's vision was a little blurry, and then he remembered again his glasses were broken. "What am I going to do about this whole not-seeing-right thing?"

"I can drive us tomorrow downtown and you can get some new ones. Can you read or see at all without them?"

"Yeah, but it's hard."

"I'm sure your parents won't be mad at you and they'll let you charge it to their credit card or something. It wasn't your fault."

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks for offering to drive me," Harry told him, examining his face in the mirror of their bathroom. His eye was very swollen, and he knew it would only get worse. That was the worst of it, though. He looked at Ron's reflection. His lip was still bleeding, and Ron kept trying to hold it down and make it stop, but every time he let go more blood would release. He got frustrated after another minute and quit all his efforts.

"Do you think we should tell Gin about this?" Harry asked.

"Hm, not sure," he said, examining his swollen cheek. "If we did, though, Ginny might kill him. Which, honestly, is more of a benefit than anything else."

Hermione returned a few moments later, and started on Harry first. Ron stood there, complaining that he was hungry, until Hermione shot him a death glare and he shut up. After she finished up helping Harry, he hugged her and thanked her. "You're the best, Mione. Honestly. I'm sorry you got caught in the middle of all of this."

"It's alright," she said solemnly, trying to smile at him. Hermione hated violence and fighting. Ron had gotten into a fight with someone our freshman year, and she was hysterical then, too.

"I'm gonna go call my mom," he told them. He thanked Hermione again, squeezed her hand, and went back into his room. Before he closed the bedroom door, he heard Hermione's muffled sobs again, and Ron whispering words to comfort her.

* * *

Her smile fell immediately upon opening the door. "Harry, what happened? Where are your glasses? Why do you have a black eye? Who—"

"Ginny, I'm fine," he said, kissing her quickly and closing the door behind her. Ron was with Hermione in her room, so he invited Ginny over for the night. He took her hand, dragging her along towards his bed.

"Fine? You call that fine? What happened to you? It wasn't…." her eyes widened suddenly as they sat down, her face turning pink. "It wasn't Ron, was it? If it was I swear to God I'll _murder_ that bastard—"

"It wasn't Ron," he quickly assured her. "Everything with Ron is fine, actually. I told him a few hours ago—about us—and everything is fine. He was happy for us, even. I was sort of shocked."

"See, I told you there was nothing to worry about," she said, smiling, squeezing his hand. Then, she remembered that she was having a nervous breakdown about Harry's beat up face. "But if Ron didn't do this to you, than who did?"

Harry took a deep breath, nervous of what Ginny's reaction would be. "So, after Ron and I talked about you and me, someone knocked on the door, barged in and knocked me out."

"Harry," she muttered. "Tell me who it was."

"Don't do anything irrational."

"Why would you—"

"It was Dean," Harry said quickly. "I was knocked out for a few minutes and when I woke up he was gone, but Hermione said he was drunk and then he and Ron started fighting too, and then after Hermione broke them apart Dean started crying and apologized and talked to Hermione about it and she calmed him down and he left."

Ginny stared at Harry, the color in her cheeks turning from pink to red, her fists and jaw clenching…her resemblance to Ron was striking in this moment. "I," she started in a hoarse whisper, "am going to kill him."

She tried standing up, but Harry held her by her shoulders. "Ginny, don't—"

"Let go of me! I am going to MURDER him. How DARE he—"

"I'm not letting go of you," Harry told her, "until you calm down."

She stared at him angrily.

"Deep breaths, Gin," he crooned to her. "Just sit back down with me, alright?"

She raised her eyebrows and squinted her eyes at him. "You can't control me, Potter."

"I'm not trying to, _Weasley,_ " he defended himself, almost laughing. "I am merely requesting for you to sit with me. Is that so wrong?"

"Yes." She shrugged him off of her, but sat down anyway. Harry chuckled, to which Ginny responded, "Shut up."

Harry rolled his eyes, sitting back down next to her. "How about we make a deal. You don't go off on a killing spree tonight—"

"It wouldn't be a _spree_ , just a singular kill..."

"—but, if you happen to accidentally bump into him and still feel this enraged, then you can yell at him as much as you like, but try to remain violent only verbally, not physically."

She pondered the idea for a little, her face scrunching up in thought, and then she looked at Harry and sighed. "Fine. That's…that's reasonable, I suppose."

Harry put his hand on Ginny's leg, rubbing it. "I'm glad you can see reason."

She rolled her eyes and muttered, "Yeah, yeah," before Harry leaned in and gave her a chaste kiss. She glanced at his black eye, and then reached up and touched it very gently. It stung Harry a bit, but he tried not to wince too much so that Ginny wouldn't get more upset. "Does it hurt?"

"Not so bad," he said, half-truthfully. "It'll clear up eventually…at least nothing is broken—well, except my glasses."

Ginny sighed and mumbled, "He should pay for them."

Harry shrugged, finding her hand and intertwining his fingers with hers. "Maybe," he said. "But it's not the end of the world. I called my Mom and she said it wasn't that big of a deal."

She put a hand on his cheek. "Always so noble."

"Nah," Harry dismissed her, smiling. She kissed him for a few moments before pulling away and asking, "Can you see at all?"

"Sort of," Harry told her. "Just…fine details are a little more fuzzy, now. Like, I can see your freckles but it'd probably hurt my eyes to try and count each of them."

She raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Do you usually count them?"

Harry's eyes (well, his one eye that wasn't black and blue) widened. "Er…no?"

Ginny threw her head back and laughed. "Very convincing, Harry."

"I hate you. Get out of my room."

"You do _not_ hate me," she chuckled, leaning in closer to him now. "Not in the slightest."

"You don't know how I feel," Harry retorted, suppressing a smile. "I'm a closed book."

"Oh yeah, for sure," Ginny mocked him sarcastically.

Harry eyed her, pulling his hand away from hers. She laughed, taking it back from him, and he didn't retreat, because who was he kidding? He wouldn't be able to keep up this playful act any longer, anyway.

Ginny smiled at him, squeezed his hand, and inched her face a bit closer to his. She bat her eyes at him, her long eyelashes slightly fuzzy to Harry at the moment but still capturing his attention, and she put on her most innocent smile. "Do you still want me out of your room? Or can I stay?"

Harry rolled his eyes but smiled in spite of himself. "I guess you can stay. Sleep in Ron's bed, though. You take up too much room in mine."

"Nah," Ginny disputed. "I think I'm gonna stay in this bed—much more comfy. _You_ can sleep in Ron's bed though, if you'd like."

"You know, _you_ can just—"

"Shut up," she said, and then crushed her lips against his.

* * *

 _[December 2012]_

 _Harry never particularly liked New Years Eve. It was always made into such a big fuss, and it never ended up being that great of a celebration, anyway. And it wasn't as nice as it was on the East Coast…In New York you've got Times Square where the ball drops, and it's just all nice and snowy, whereas in California it's just chilly. It's a miracle if it snows in San Francisco; it only snows once every few decades. It always bummed Harry out a bit that the California experience of the winter holidays weren't as nice as they seemed on the east coast. So, although he enjoyed Christmas, he was never the biggest fan of New Years. Either way, his parents always insisted on making him have plans with friends for the New Year._

 _This year, Ron was having a party at his house, and both Ginny and he invited a whole bunch of people from both the basketball teams. Harry was captain of the baseball team; so Ron invited Harry's baseball team, too. Their house was surprisingly crowded, but Harry tried to enjoy New Years Eve as best as he could._

 _Harry's girlfriend, Cho Chang, couldn't make it to the party. She already had other plans at her best friend's, Marietta. She invited Harry to come along, but he knew that Marietta didn't really like him too much, and he would rather be with Ron than Marietta and her friends, anyway._

 _Harry was sitting by the fireplace with Neville, watching the Dick Clark New Years Special. Lavender's best friend, Parvati, was sitting next to them as well, looking rather annoyed, as Lavender was in the corner, practically on top of Ron (who was drunk). Padma, Parvati's twin sister, was there as well._

 _Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson, both members of the girl's basketball team were both animatedly asking Ginny a load of questions. Ginny kept shushing them, and answering in a low voice. Harry noticed her glancing over at him a few times, catching his eye and quickly smiling before turning back to her teammates. Harry, for some reason he wasn't quite aware of, found himself looking at her more often than usual. Maybe it was the way she was wearing her hair (in long, loose curls), or maybe it was in the way she was wearing a little more makeup than the bare minimum she puts on for school, or maybe it was because of the nice green dress she was wearing…maybe it was just because Harry didn't see her too often looking like this; At least, that's what he told himself._

 _After about twenty minutes of Harry fighting these intruding thoughts about Ginny and trying to concentrate on whatever Neville, Parvati and Padma were going on about, Ginny finally came over to Harry._

 _"Maybe smile or something, yeah?" she said, kicking his leg lightly, smirking. It was nice to see her smiling at him and acting cheery towards him, since the past few months she had been more distant, for whatever reason._

 _"You know I don't like this holiday," he reminded her, unexplainably nervous to look her in the eye._

 _"Fake it til you make it, right?" Ginny sat down next to him, their legs almost touching. "Where's my idiot brother?"_

 _"Getting his face eaten by Lavender," Parvati informed her, rolling her eyes in their direction._

 _Ginny glanced over, grimaced, and called out to them, "Hey, lovebirds! There's this thing called going into a room behind a closed door. You guys should try it!"_

 _Everyone around them laughed, and Lavender, red in the face, quickly got off of Ron, smoothed out her skirt, and narrowed her eyes at Ginny before putting her nose up and walking towards the table filled with drinks and snacks._

 _"Sorry, Ginny," Parvati apologized for her friend, still snickering at Ginny's joke as she got up to walk over to Lavender and calm her down._

 _Ron stumbled over, a little dazed and a little embarrassed, and sat next to Ginny. "You think you're funny."_

 _"Think? I know," she stated, smiling, putting her arm around her brother. "Lighten up!"_

 _"I'm not the one who needs to lighten up," he mumbled so only Ginny and Harry could hear, as he nudged his head to where Lavender was standing. "She acts like my boss or something."_

 _"You don't even like her," said Ginny. "Why don't you just ditch her?"_

 _"She'll have my head," Ron whispered, pretending to slice his own head off. "That's like_ asking _to be killed."_

 _"We'll protect you," Ginny laughed. "Won't we, Harry?"_

 _"Of course," Harry replied, smiling at her. She beamed back at him, and he for some reason felt a lump in his throat._

 _"Good luck with that," sighed Ron, standing up. "And wish me some too," he said, before going back to Lavender before she got angry with him._

 _"I don't get them," Ginny said to Harry quietly._

 _"Neither do I," said Harry truthfully. 'But, you gotta let him live his life, I guess."_

 _"Eh, debatable," said Ginny, grinning. "Want to go outside with me?"_

 _"Er…yeah, sure," Harry agreed warily. They both stood up and walked towards the sliding doors that let to the backyard. Harry opened the door for the both of them, and then closed it behind them. It was a chilly night, and so Ginny crossed her arms, and they walked towards the family's old swing set across from their basketball court. Each of them sat on a swing, and swung slowly and low in silence for a bit. Harry interrupted the silence. "Is, um, everything alright?"_

 _"Yeah," Ginny responded, looking up at him. "Everything's fine. I just wanted to…apologize."_

 _"Apologize?" questioned Harry. "For what?"_

 _"You know what," Ginny said, quickly. "How I've been acting lately towards you. I've been cold towards you for no good reason and you're too nice to call me out on it."_

 _"You haven't—"_

 _"I have," she interjected. "I know I have. I'm sorry. I just was…" she paused, looking away from him and up at the stars in the sky. "I was just having a hard time with…with something," she finished. "And I needed to sort it out on my own. But I shouldn't have been rude to you because of my own personal shit."_

 _"Ginny, it's really—"_

 _"It's not okay," she said, looking back at him fiercely. They sat there, looking at each other for a few long moments._

 _"Well, I forgive you," Harry told her. "Don't even worry about it."_

 _"Harry—"_

 _"I'm serious!" he said, trying to smile at her. "Maybe it wasn't okay, but it is now and I forgive you. You're hard to stay mad with."_

 _She bit her lip, searching his face. "Well, thanks," she whispered. She held out her hand, and Harry curiously took it. She stood up, dragging him up with her. Then, she flung her arms around his shoulders and hugged him rather tightly. Harry subconsciously sighed into her, and closed his eyes as he wrapped his arms around her waist._

 _He was unsure how long they were standing there, holding each other. He felt in a daze or a daydream…and then suddenly was woken up by it when Ginny's phone started to ring loudly in her pocket._

 _She pulled away quickly from him. "Sorry," she said, smiling, as she took her phone out and answered. "Hello?"_

 _Harry felt his cheeks turn pink, and he was breathing rather heavily, although he was still quite unsure why. He put his hands in his pockets and looked down at his feet uncomfortably._

 _"Yeah, I'll let you in in a second," she told whomever she was speaking to on the phone. She ended the call and put her cell back in her dress pocket. "I have to go, but I'm glad we cleared this up…thanks for not being angry with me."_

 _Harry breathed heavily. "I never could be," he said, simply._

 _She smiled at him lightly, and then leaned in and kissed his cheek gently, before walking past him back towards the sliding doors. Harry stood there, quite unsure what to do now, a bit confused and a bit flustered._

 _After a few moments of confusion, he receded back into the house to find Ron. Lavender had him by the arm, and he seemed a bit miserable. Harry went over to them._

 _"Hey, Lavender," he tried with a small smile. "Can I borrow Ron for a moment?"_

 _"Sure," she said, miserably. Then she turned Ron's face towards her, planted a big kiss on his lips, and then let go. "See you later, Ronny."_

 _Ron gave her a weary smile, and then went off with Harry._

 _"What's up?" Ron asked, following Harry to the kitchen._

 _Harry wasn't even sure. All he knew was he wanted something to make his thoughts stop racing. "Let's get drunk."_

 _Ron chuckled, grabbing two beers for himself and Harry. "Sounds fantastic to me. Cheers!"_

 _[1 hour later]_

 _"Leave me alone," Ron mumbled under his breath, turning away._

 _"Excuse me!" Lavender said, tears filling her eyes._

 _"Listen—it's been…great? But I think it'd be best if we split up…be on our own for a while, you know? It was a good run, yeah?"_

 _Tears started spilling out of Lavender's eyes, and then she took her cup of punch and poured it on Ron's head. "Never speak to me again!" she shouted, and ran out of the house crying. Parvati sighed and went to follow her._

 _"That was rough," Harry commented._

 _"Like you said it…needed to be done," Ron said slowly, taking another gulp of his beer. "I'm finally free! I can do whatever I want again! Well, I can't have a snog whenever I please anymore I suppose…but I'm free!"_

 _"Glad to see you made the right choice," said Ginny, walking passed them, smirking._

 _Ron shoved her, to which she just laughed and kept walking. Harry's eyes followed her, and saw her extend her hand out to someone to hold. Harry recognized the boy she was standing with from his calculus class._

 _"Why is Ginny holding hands with Michael Corner?"_

 _"They're dating…I think. At least shagging. She won't really clarify to me. 'It's my private business and you can keep your big nose out of it!' You know how she is," answered Ron._

 _"Since when?" Harry asked._

 _"A couple of weeks, I think. You didn't know?"_

 _Harry shook his head._

 _A few moments later, everyone was counting down, watching The Ball in Times Square drop on television. "Ten…Nine…Eight…"_

 _"Guess we're out of luck for a midnight kiss. Your girlfriend isn't here and I no longer have one. Happy New Year."_

 _"We could kiss," Harry joked. "We already act like a couple anyway."_

 _"…Two…One! HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Everyone shouted._

 _Harry looked around at all his friends, but unfortunately, his eyes found something he didn't wish to see: Ginny and Michael Corner kissing, rather intensely, to ring in the New Year. Suddenly, Harry felt his blood boiling, and as if a monster inside his chest was trying to break through._

 _He didn't understand it, but he felt as if he wanted to come between them and break them apart, and push Michael to the ground and take Ginny in his own arms. This fantasy scene was abruptly interrupted by Ron kissing Harry's cheek and shouting, "Happy New Year, buddy! Hope you liked your midnight kiss from yours truly."_

 _Harry tried to shake away the picture of Ginny and Michael from his head, although it did not seem to work at all. Not tonight, nor the next night, nor at all…_

* * *

 _[February 2013]_

 _"You know," Cho said now, in a high pitched, hysterical voice. "Plenty of other boys have asked me out! Roger, Michael—"_

 _"Great," Harry interrupted her, his anger uncontainable now. "Why don't you go out with them instead, then?"_

 _Cho looked taken aback for a moment, tears streaming down her face. Then, she wiped her tears, stood up, and said, "Fine. Maybe I will!"_

 _"Fine!" Harry shouted back. Cho picked up her bag and turned quickly away from him, marching towards the door. "Happy Valentine's Day!"_

 _She opened the door, turned around again to face Harry one last time—then flipped him off, turned back and slammed the door shut._

 _Harry had not realized until he had stopped fighting with her just the type of scene they had caused. Most eyes were on him in the coffee shop, and it was pretty silent. A few moments later, murmurs from the people started once more. Harry felt angry and confused. He thought—or he hoped—that things were going well with Cho. Well, that is until about a month ago. She went to visit her older sister in college up in Washington, and she bumped into Cedric: her ex-boyfriend. Harry always had the inkling that Cho still had feelings for Cedric, but tried not to let it get to him. Ever since she came back from Washington, she had been acting strange…as if she was expecting a lot more out of him than he was already giving her—maybe she wanted him to act the way Cedric did. It was bothering Harry, but not enough to mention it to her._

 _Well, at least until now on their Valentine's Day date. When he told her they were going to his favorite coffee shop instead of to some fancy restaurant, Cho muttered something like, "Most other boyfriends, at least in my experience, do a lot more for their girlfriends on Valentine's Day than get coffee." This put Harry in a somewhat sour mood to start off their evening._

 _To be truthful, Harry had not been entirely, mentally or emotionally present in his relationship with Cho for the past couple of months. Ever since New Years eve, he found his thoughts drifting into daydreams about Ginny. He kept reminding himself that Ginny was Ron's little sister, and he would probably be killed if Ron knew that he was thinking and dreaming about her, and that it would make no sense to start a relationship with her anyway because he was graduating in a few months…but no matter what he told himself, his thoughts of her refused to vanish. The week before, her and Michael had split up. She broke up with him, and seemed quite pleasant about it, which made Harry cheerful, although he had to hide it. He wanted to stay with Cho, hoping if things got better with her that his thoughts of Ginny would lessen. However, this plan failed._

 _After a few minutes of contemplating the matter, Harry had made a decision. He stood up and left the coffee shop, taking out his phone. He went into his contact list and called Ginny._

 _"Harry?"_

 _"Hey, Ginny. Are you doing anything right now?"_

 _"No, but Harry, is everything okay?" she asked, seeming concerned. "Shouldn't you be out with Cho for Valentine's day?"_

 _"Yeah, everything's fine. Cho and I just split up," he said lightly. "Do you think you can be at my house in around 20 minutes? Don't say anything to Ron."_

 _There was quite a long pause, and then Ginny spoke again. "You sure you're alright, Harry?"_

 _"Positive," he told her. "I promise."_

 _Another pause, until, "Yeah, I'll see you in 20."_

 _"Fantastic. See you," said Harry, and then he hung up._

 _Harry walked the three blocks home, trying not to think too hard about what was about to happen, because otherwise he might have called Ginny and told her he was joking and not to come over. His house was empty, because his parents were out to dinner for Valentine's Day. He went into the bathroom to check his appearance. He didn't know what he was doing, really._

 _He sat on the couch and watched some television to pass the time. The doorbell finally rang. Harry practically sprinted to the door, opening it up. Ginny stood there, her nose pink from the cold, wearing a blue scarf and a white hat._

 _"Hi," she said quietly, and she walked in, closing the door behind her._

 _"Hi," Harry answered softly back._

 _"Are, um, your parents home?" she questioned._

 _"Out," Harry stated simply, as they kept standing there by the doorway._

 _She moved closer towards the dining room table, looking around. "Harry, are you sure everything is alright?"_

 _"Yeah," he said, following her. But there was still a significant distance between them._

 _"But…you and Cho. You broke up…"_

 _"Right."_

 _"Are you…upset?"_

 _Harry shook his head. "No, not really."_

 _There was a pause. "Then why'd you want me to come over?"_

 _It took all the bravery Harry had in him to say, "Well—just because of that."_

 _Ginny looked at him, breathing heavily. "Can you, um…further explain, please?"_

 _To do so, Harry took a few big steps closer to her, so they were directly in front of one another, with very little space between them._

 _Ginny peered at him curiously, seemingly flustered._

 _"You alright?" Harry asked, noticing the change in her facial expression._

 _She took a few breaths before answering. "I mean…it's…you are very close to me," Ginny observed._

* * *

 **A/N: in case you didn't realize, the last line of this chapter is the same as the first line of chapter 3 :) hope you liked it and please review! :D**


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